Chapter 14:

Nala smiled softly at the paper in front of her. Wikor had finally responded – well, it wasn't that he finally responded but the letter finally reached her. He was almost an entire world away now. Though she was more than happy to receive his letter, the contents within weren't the best news. Mister Borgs, the man he has been helping in Hogan, was beginning to show signs of the end of his life nearing. He was already showing strands of grey when Nala had last seen him which was about a decade ago. She could feel the unease in his words; the uncertainty of what was next for him.

It was the early morning – even before breakfast but she had always woken up early. She blamed her brother for that curse since he always rose first then found it suitable to waken her as well.

Placing the paper aside for the moment, Nala reached for her own parchment and quill and immediately began drafting her response. She filled it with her regrets for Borgs but wished him the best and informed him of what more had happened at Erebor. It was currently the middle of summer, which didn't get hot that far up north except for a warm breeze and comfortable heat. It had been two months since her arrival at Erebor.

She hadn't yet done much in all honesty. Most of her days were left to exploring the different parts of the mountain, helping Fili when she could and sitting in the library reading. Everything had just gone over passively.

She did have a few meetings with Thorin and her brother. It was regulatory by that stage: anybody suspicious they have been made aware of, who they talk to often if they feel anything is amiss. Most of the time it was all the same answers – no, they hadn't. But it was comforting to know that the king of the kingdom was constantly supporting them.

Often at times, she could forget there was someone out there with a purposeful intention to kill her and her brother. And she felt guilty for being able to have those times where it wasn't lingering in the back of her mind since she knew that everyday Bola was vigilant. She had noticed that he would check on her at least twice a day when he could. He would just drop in, say hello and then leave shortly after.

Signing off her letter, Nala tucked it away for the time being and quickly searched around for her shoes. Bofur had asked her and Bola to have breakfast with him and she had no idea if she was late. With her shoes now securely fit, Nala begins marching towards her door.

Swinging it open, she came face to face with her brother who had his hand up and ready to knock. "Morning," she chirped. "Am I running late?"

"Don't think so. Bofur always snored away the morning anyways," he replied as the began walking down the hallway. "What's your plan for the day?"

Nala hummed in thought, tipping her head to her shoulder. "I might go to the library again. Ori is really nice, and I enjoy the books. What about you?"

Bola exhaled deeply, almost in an exasperated manner. "Fili and I are going to Dale around noon to go speak to Bard. Thorin thought it would be a good idea to start acting as his guard before the oath."

"Well don't sound too thrilled," Nala goaded. "Fili is very friendly. You're just stiff and he doesn't know how to speak with you."

Bola sighed once more, sagging his shoulders. "I know he's a decent man. And I like him as well or I wouldn't have accepted to perform the oath."

Nala could tell there was more left to his words, but he didn't seem to be able to form them, so she let it go. If Fili agreed to the oath, then he was content to be around her brother more than usual.

"When are you performing that anyways? You never told me what you actually have to do."

"Two days after Durin's Days," he replied promptly. "There's a public ceremony. It has some fancy rituals, something about blood and silver. There was a lot; my mind sort of glazed over."

"But…you're prepared to do it? To protect the future king with your life?"

Bola smiled down at his sister who looked back up with wide eyes. "I think I've always been prepared. I've known most of my life that I would spend it protecting somebody. It felt natural. Just have to keep my eye on the both of you now." He nudged her shoulder lightly and Nala giggled softly. "Promise me you won't get into a lot of trouble while my eye is on our future king."

"Let's be real," she chortled. "He's my only friend so if you have your eye on him, I'll probably be near as well."

"I'm not your friend?"

The twins' smiles dropped for a second at the new voice, but they rise again at Bofur jogging up behind them. He was pouting slightly, not enough to show true offence but enough to hint at it. "I think I count you as a strange uncle Bofur," Nala countered.

Bofur pointed his lips forward, nodding in approval. "I do like that," he concluded. "Now how about this breakfast! Bombur is cooking us up a treat!"

Bola almost begins to drool. "Oh, I've missed his cooking. His sausages were just the perfect amount of greasiness."

"Well lead the way!" Nala urged, grinning at the anticipation.

Bombur's cooking was just as good as promised and the three of them plus Bombur spent the morning over a large traditional Dwarven breakfast. It was truly a feast which she had not experienced in many years. They had enough food to get buy when they were travelling but it was a luxury to truly fill their stomachs.

Once it was over, Nala followed Bola to the main entrance of Erebor. Her curiosity started to grow as Bola informed her who Bard was with a quick glaze over the events of Lake-town.

"Can I please come with you? I barely had a chance to see Dale on the way in and I haven't gone down since."

Bola frowned at her as he continued marching. His pace had her almost jogging alongside him. "I don't think it's the best idea. We don't know how safe it is going to be for us."

Nala rolled her eyes, scoffing slightly. "We lived on the road for fifty years with stranger people around. Being in Erebor is no different from being in Dale. There hasn't been any sign of someone following us," she argued. "And you and Fili will both be there."

"That's what has me worried," Bola mumbled in reply. He glanced down at her for a moment with an expression she couldn't register. "You may come as long as Fili agrees, and you wear a hood or head shawl."

Nala beamed, flicking up the material of the navy shawl she had been wearing over her head. "Can do. And Fili will say yes."

Fili did indeed say yes, accompanied by a promise to show her around Dale if they got the chance. Nala was thrilled at the offer but didn't hold her hopes high as she knew exactly how far astray political talk could become. And while Fili was a naturally strong leader, he didn't have the same ability to hold ground as his uncle did.

They rode in on ponies and Nala couldn't help but reminisce Mulbury who she had to leave next to a river. As the first rode towards Dale, there was a massive smile on her face as she saw outside the mountain for the first time properly. When she had come through, she barely had enough energy to think straight, let alone take in the sights.

But as they rode into Dale itself, the smile slowly slid from her face. There was a lot of people, Men and Dwarves alike. And their eyes were on the small brigade of Dwarves. She knew logically that their eyes were on Fili and the guard with him but the feeling of so many intense stares crept up along her back in the most unsettling way.

They continued riding until they reached the centre of town, signified by a hall with a tall tower. The group dismounted, handing their ponies off to awaiting stable hands. Nala watched silently, ensuring that her shawl was pulled well over the sides of her face. Fili donned a broad smile as the door to the town hall opened.

The first person to walk through the door was an older man with shoulder-length dark hair and scruffy hair along his jawline. Behind him were a few guards as well as a young boy no older than sixteen – if her guess at human ages was correct.

The first man didn't look like much – no royal garbs or crown so Nala hadn't thought much of him until Fili strode towards him and greeted each other directly.

"Bard, I'm glad we could meet," Fili stated. "I think we are already settled on the agreement but it's best to go through it with the council and make sure everybody is in agreement."

Bard replied something but Nala's attention wasn't on his words. She stood by her brother just slightly off to the side. Bola had his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, watching both Fili and his surroundings intensely. "That's Bard? The dragon-slayer?"

"And now King of Dale," he added. Nala took a moment to register that she was, in fact, looking at a man that had killed a dragon that an entire army could not defeat.

"Fascinating," she murmured. "And is that his son?"

"Bain," Bola confirmed.

Xx

Nala and the Dwarven company, along with the Men of Dale occupied a council room in the town hall. It was slightly segregated, with the Dwarves on the right and Men on the left but there were also three Elven representatives. The Elves all had long brown hair that did not falter with a single wave.

The talks went on for about two hours, going over trade agreements. Nala mostly caught on that Dale would produce the grains and land produce which they would trade for machinery crafted by the Dwarves to harvest it with. There were more technical parts that she glazed over.

She was standing against a wall, head drooping closer to her shoulder with every minute that passed. She would give credit to Fili and every other person in the room for not falling asleep because she was close to it.

Unable to cope with the constant threat of toppling over, Nala takes a few steps closer to her brother so she could speak without causing a distraction. "I'm just going outside to grab a bit of sunlight and air," she told him under her breath.

Bola initially looked a bit sceptical but reluctantly nodded. "Come straight back in. And don't wander away."

Nala nodded in agreement with his terms as she slipped past him. The wood creaked slightly under her boots as she snaked through the small crowd of escorts and guards but fortunately nobody seemed to take any notice of her.

As the front entrance door shuts behind her, Nala exhales the stale air in exchange for the warm fresh breeze of summer in Dale. The air, along with the heat of the sun on her skin quickly did what she had hoped and the muscles in her body began to come back to life.

The people of Dale were going about their day, sauntering past the stairs to the hall. They, like the Dwarves, were still in the middle of rebuilding their lives. Many parts of the mountain were still under reconstruction and would be for many years to come. Dale had been ruined by Smaug as well, but it had good foundations to be built from, especially compared to Lake-Town which was burnt to ashes.

Nala did truly mean to go back inside within a few moments, but something caught her eye just as her feet began to turn. A small child was pressed up against a stone wall, her head turning down both directions of the street. Nala paused, watching the child then looking down the street as well for any sign of her mother or father.

There was no one in sight that looked like they were looking for somebody. Knowing she couldn't leave the child there alone, Nala slowly walked down the steps – ensuring she didn't seem threatening in the slightest – and approached the young girl. Nala would guess she was less than five years of age; slightly chubby cheeks tinted with a rosiness.

The young girl watched Nala walk over to her and held her ragged wooden doll closer to her chest. Nala smiled softly, pushing the shawl off her head so her entire face wasn't hidden. "Hello," Nala greeted softly. "I'm Nala. Are you trying to find your parents?"

The young girl looked around once more and Nala could tell she was debating whether or not to talk to a stranger. "Yes," she whispered eventually. "My Ma told me to wait but there was a bird a-and I chased it."

"Was it a pretty bird?" Nala questioned, trying to let the girl warm up. The child nodded, smiling. "Do you have a name as well?"

The hand that wasn't clenching her toy raised to her mouth and her thumb went between her teeth. "Willow," she answered so lightly that Nala's ears strained to hear.

"Well, Willow. How about we try and find your parents? Do you remember where they were?"